Thursday, March 14, 2013

Cost of Diabetes Increases 41% in 5 Years

The
total costs of diagnosed diabetes have risen to $245 billion in 2012 from $174
billion in 2007, when the cost was last examined, says the American Diabetes Association.
This figure represents a 41% increase over a 5-year period.

The
study, Economic Costs of Diabetes in the US in 2012, includes direct medical costs of $176 billion, which
reflects costs for hospital and emergency care, office visits, and medications;
and indirect medical costs totaling $69 billion. Indirect costs include
absenteeism, reduced productivity, unemployment caused by diabetes-related
disability, and lost productivity due to early mortality.

In addition, the study found that:

Medical
expenditures for people with diabetes are 2.3 times higher than for those
without diabetes.

The
primary driver of increased costs is the increasing prevalence of diabetes
in the US population.

Despite
the introduction of new classes of medication for the treatment of
diabetes, antidiabetic agents and diabetes supplies continue to account
for only 12% of medical expenditures in both 2007 and 2012.

The research also examined costs along gender, racial and
ethnic lines, and included state-by-state data. Key findings include:

Most
of the cost for diabetes care in the US, 62.4%, is provided by government
insurance. The rest is paid for by private insurance (34.4%) or by the
uninsured (3.2%).

Total
per-capita health expenditures are higher among women than men ($8,331 vs
$7,458). Total per-capita health care expenditures are lower among
Hispanics ($5,930) and higher among non-Hispanic blacks ($9,540) than
among non-Hispanic whites ($8,101).

The
per-capita cost of medical care attributed to diabetes was $6,649 in 2007
and $7,900 in 2012, a 19% increase.

Among
states, California has the largest population with diabetes and thus the
highest costs, at $27.6 billion. Although Florida's total population
is fourth among states behind California, Texas, and New York, it is
second in costs at $18.9 billion.

The
study will be published in the upcoming April issue of Diabetes Care.